"L'amant double" or "Double Lover" is a French/Belgian co-production in the French language from 2017 and the most recent release by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker François Ozon and he is also one of the writers here who adapted the novel this film is based on. He was around the age of 50 when he made it and reunites with Marine Vacth, his muse maybe you could say already as she is really at the very center of this 105-minute film from start to finish. This sure was an interesting film that oozes creativity constantly and as always with Ozon there are many really beautiful and sensual shots here and you find out right away at the very beginning that Ozon still isn't scared of touching taboos as we see the close-up as a vagina, strap-on sex and there is a great deal of nudity in here and also visual references about a girl's period, also the core subject of one of Ozon's earlier short films by the way. "Frantz" was a very different work for Ozon and here this movie feels like his usual approach again. Vacth is of course an absolute stunner and I am usually not into short-haired girls, so this is a huge compliment coming from me. She looks like the young Juliette Binoche minus a bit of cuteness plus a bit of hotness I'd say. But performance-wise, Jérémie Renier is maybe even more impressive handling the difficult effort of playing two characters in this movie. Or is he really? That's the question you will ask yourself quickly after the young woman runs into the doppelganger for the first time. And from that moment on, nothing is what it seems. I really loved the mirror references and they were among the very highlights of the film. The cat references weren't bad either and generally the ways in which Ozon made obvious how different the 2 men are: the money paying moments, the one who is in charge of talking during these sessions, the birthday behavior etc. Sadly, as much wit and beauty may be included here, Ozon's constant attempts at making this special, packed with symbolisms, metaphors etc. feel sometimes too much. One good example would be when we see Bisset being the mother of the protagonist suddenly. But the cat jewellery item on her was interesting again. Nonetheless there are moments when the film just tries to be a bit too deep and smart and significant for its own good and the result is that it does feel a bit fake and for the sake of it, maybe even pretentious. A thumbs-up goes to the neighbor and the actress Myriam Boyer did an amazing job combining strangeness with kindness and you never knew what she really was. An absolute scene stealer in my opinion. Back to the mirrors I mentioned earlier, I also want to say it is such a shame that at the very end they really messed up on that regard too with the very last scene/shot unfortunately as this was really the one and only moment where the mirror reference felt weak and obsolete, but it stays in the mind because it just happens before the closing credits roll in. All in all, I would say that this was certainly an enjoyable watch, but it could have been much better too with stronger focus and less going all-in. The longer it went, the more you became as confused as the protagonist I guess. I think as a family drama with thriller elements it could have worked best. The psychological horror and mystery genre moments did the least for me and they were pretty awkward at times. I don't know how much Ozon took directly out of the novel, but I do believe that dialogue writing may not have been his biggest strength as there were moments when the talking did not feel too authentic. You will realize them when you see them, maybe consider completely others than myself that way. For me one of these moments was when we see her stand up to the other brother during the scene that results in the breaking glass from the mirror (once again). Nonetheless, I believe the positive is more frequent than the negative, especially in the film's first half and I recommend checking it out. Not a must-see or one of Ozon's very best, but a decent achievement as a whole. Thumbs-up and I give it a positive recommendation. Oh yeah and as for the reference in the title of my review, I certainly had this feeling during the domination scenes with the second brother, but of course I cannot say if this really inspired Ozon. That's really all now though. Watch this one if you like French non-comedy films.
Review of Double Lover
